Cooking and preparing baked and barbecued goods in the home, kitchen and campground generally involve the handling of hot objects such as cookware, pans, pots, plates and other cooking accessories and tools that cannot be safely or comfortably held by hand without some form of protection. However, kitchens are becoming increasingly filled with accessories and tools, having limited storage spaces so that a device or tool that can serve multiple purposes is welcome, saving space as well as providing multiple functions and uses. While kitchen gloves are common and handy accessories, they generally function only as gloves to protect one's hands from hot objects and are not suited for use for other purposes, such as for example, for use as a trivet to protect a susceptible surface, such as a countertop or table, from the same hot object. In addition, after typical and normal use, kitchen gloves can become soiled by liquids, food, food residues, spills and perspiration released by a user's hand, leaving the gloves somewhat unpalatable for the continued use and handling of foods and their containers.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to have a kitchen or barbecue glove that has the capability of providing multiple functions, such as for example, functioning as a glove and as one or more trivets to protect either a user or a surface from contact with a hot or cold object. In addition, it would be desirable to have a kitchen or barbecue glove that has the capability of providing several simultaneous functions, such as for example, functioning as a glove but providing additional properties such as easier cleaning, stain and soil resistance, water and oil resistance and/or repellency, antimicrobial or odor control efficacy, faster drying, and combinations thereof, serving to provide a glove with a cleaner and more sanitary contact surface for the handling of foods and containers, and around food contact surfaces.
More specifically, it would also be desirable to have a kitchen or barbecue glove whose surfaces have the property, either inherently or by means of some suitable treatment applied thereon, to resist or prevent contaminants or stains from adhering thereon, or resist or prevent the attachment, growth and spread of microbial organisms, or alternatively, to ease the removal of such contaminants, stains or microbial organisms from said surface during a cleaning or rinsing procedure applied to restore those surfaces to a clean or pristine condition following use.
Accordingly, one object of the present invention is a convertible insulated glove in the form of two separately attached half sections for the handling of hot or cold objects, one embodiment of the inventive glove fitting either the left or right hand of the user, or the use of two such gloves worn on both hands.
Another object of the present invention is a convertible insulated glove in the form of two separately attached half sections that can be divided into at least two objects that can serve as trivets for the purpose of insulating a susceptible surface, such as a countertop, table or tray, from a hot or cold object.
Another object of the present invention is a convertible insulated glove in the form of two separately attached half sections that can be divided into at least two objects that can serve as mitts each having means for engaging at least one finger of at least one user's hand to enable control and positioning of said mitt for the purpose of insulating a user's fingers or hands from a hot or cold object.
A further object of the present invention is a convertible insulated glove in the form of two separately attached half sections that are constructed of, or whose surfaces thereof have been treated with, a material that serves to resist or prevent contaminants or stains from adhering thereon.
Yet another object of the present invention is a convertible insulated glove in the form of two separately attached half sections that are constructed of, or whose surfaces thereof have been treated with, a material that serves to ease the removal of contaminants or stains from said surfaces during a cleaning or rinsing procedure applied to restore that surface to a clean or pristine condition following use.
Another object of the present invention is a convertible insulated glove in the form of two separately attached half sections that are constructed of, or whose surfaces thereof have been treated with, a material that serves to resist or prevent the attachment, growth and spread of microbial organisms, or alternatively, to ease the removal of microbial organisms and their byproducts, such as stains and odors, from said surface during a cleaning or rinsing procedure applied to restore that surface to a clean or pristine condition following use.